Locking collapsible container

ABSTRACT

A collapsible container movable between an erect position and a collapsed position includes a bottom having a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls pivotally connected thereto. The top ring extends around a top edge of the container and a lid is mounted on the top ring to form a cover for the container. One end of the lid, the top of an associated end wall and an associated end bar of the top ring each contain through holes therein which are aligned with each other to receive removable locking means therein to lock the container in an erect position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a collapsible container and, moreparticularly, to a collapsible container for holding goods which ismovable between a collapsed and an erected position and which has alocking feature which secures the container when in an erected position.

2. Description of the Related Art

Collapsible containers for storing and transporting goods are in wideuse. The collapsible containers may be used to hold goods for shippingand/or storage when in an erect position and advantageously also may bemoved to a collapsed position when not in use. Examples of knowncollapsible containers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,953 and U.S.Pat. No. 6,868,979. Another collapsible container is shown in U.S.Patent Publication No. 2004/0104230.

It is important in connection with collapsible containers that they beable to be maintained in an erect position when in use and that they besecured against unauthorized access. While the containers shown in U.S.Pat. No. 5,038,9553 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0104230 containlocking features that maintain the containers in an erect position whenin use, a need still exists for a collapsible container having animproved locking feature to maintain the container in an erect positionwhen in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedcollapsible container which is movable between a collapsed position andan erect position and which includes means for securely locking thecontainer in an erect position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved collapsiblecontainer which includes a removable locking means inserted throughaligned holes in a lid, a top ring and an end wall.

It is another object of the invention to provide a collapsible containerwherein the side walls and end walls are foldable inwardly when thecontainer is in a collapsed position and which walls are maintained inan upright position when the container is in an erect position andwherein a break away rivet is used to securely lock the walls in theerect position.

The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providinga collapsible container movable between an erect position and acollapsed position and which includes a bottom, a pair of opposed endwalls pivotally connected to opposite ends of the bottom and a pair ofopposed side walls pivotally connected to opposite sides of the bottom.Each side wall includes an upper section and a lower section pivotallyconnected together lengthwise at an intermediate portion of the sidewall. A top ring extends around a top edge of the container and theupper edges of the side walls and end walls are pivotally connectedthereto. A lid is mounted on the top ring and forms a cover for thecontainer. Aligned holes are formed in the lid, the top ring and anupper edge of one of the end walls which, when the container is in anerect position, form aligned holes through which a removable lockingmeans is inserted to lock the container in the erect position. Thelocking means may be a break away rivet made of a brittle plastic or atie made of a suitable material such as metal. The container preferablyis made of a suitable plastic material such as polyethylene orpolypropylene.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent with the following detailed description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the container of the presentinvention showing the container in an erect position;

FIG. 2 is an exploded side elevational view of the container of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded end elevational view of the container of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a container of the present inventionshowing a breakaway rivet locking the container in an erect position;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view through the middle of FIG. 1 of the containerof the present invention and FIG. 5A is a blown up view of an endportion of FIG. 5 showing the locking feature of the present invention;and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the container of the presentinvention showing an end wall partially erected.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Shown in the drawings is a collapsible container 10 having a bottom 12,two opposed end walls 14 and 16 and two opposed side walls 18 and 20. Arectangular top ring 22 extends all the way around the upper edge of thecontainer. A lid 24 is mounted on the top ring to form a cover for thecontainer. The container is movable between an erect position as shownin FIG. 1 and a collapsed position (not shown). The container may beconstructed of a suitable plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

As shown in FIG. 2, side wall 18 is comprised of an upper section 30 anda lower section 32 connected together intermediate of the side wall by asuitable hinge means 34. Upper section 30 is hingedly connected to topring 20 by a suitable hinge connection 36 and lower section 32 ishingedly connected to bottom wall 12 by suitable hinge connection 38.The side wall 18 is constructed so that it may pivot or collapseinwardly when the container is moved to a collapsed position. Oppositeside wall 20 is of the identical construction as side wall 18.

End wall 14 is hingedly connected at its bottom or lower edge to an endof the bottom 12 by suitable hinge means 40 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6.Opposite end wall 16 similarly is hinged at its lower edge to theopposite end of the bottom 12. Both end walls are hingedly connected soas to fold inwardly when the container is being collapsed.

The top ring 22 is constructed of two opposed end bars 42 and 44 and twoopposed side bars 46 and 48. The two end bars and the two side bars areconnected together at their ends to form the rectangular top ring 22which is adapted to fit all the way around the top edges of the endwalls and side walls.

A significant feature of the invention resides in a removable lockingmeans extending through aligned holes in the lid, one end wall and oneend bar of the top ring to lock the walls in an upright position whenthe container is fully erected. The locking means also provides anadditional level of security in that it provides an indication as towhether the container has been tampered with.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 5A and 6, the right hand end of the lid 24 isprovided with a through hole 52 at the center thereof. End bar 42 isprovided with a through hole 54 in the middle thereof which extendsthrough the top of the end bar into an access opening 58 in the end bar42. The bottom 60 of access opening 58 is angled downwardly andoutwardly as shown in FIGS. 5 and 5A.

The top of end wall 14 is provided with a tab 62 spaced from the top ofthe end wall. The tab is provided with a through hole 56. The tab 62fits over the top of the end bar 42 of the top ring when the containeris in an erected position as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 5 andin FIG. 5A. The hole 52 in the lid, the hole 56 in the top edge of theend wall 14 and the hole 54 in the end bar 42 of the top ring are allaligned so that when the container is erected, the three through holesfor an opening which extends all the way through from the top of the lid52 into the access area 58 of the end bar 42.

A removable locking means 66 is inserted through the aligned holes 52,54 and 56 to lock the container in an erect position. The form oflocking means shown in the drawing is a break away rivet having a handle68 on the top and a bottom having prongs 70 thereon for engagement withthe bottom of the hole 54 in the end bar 42. The break away rivet ispreferably constructed of a brittle plastic or a nylon and onecommercially available and is well known in the art. Alternatively, thelocking means 66 may be a metal or plastic string tie. When a break awayrivet is used as the locking means 66, the handle portion 68 is pulledand the handle portion breaks off from the lower body of the rivetcontaining the prongs 70. The bottom half of the rivet then falls intothe access area 58 and slides along the angled bottom 60 thereof andfalls clear of the container.

The container is designed so that a plurality of the containers may bestacked one upon the other when in an erected position. For thispurpose, the lid 24 of the container has a depressed central area 72 toaccommodate a bottom support portion 74 of the container.

To move the collapsible container of the present invention from an erectposition to a collapsed position, the locking means 66 is removed fromthe holes in the lid 24, end wall 14 and end bar 42 of the top ring 22.The end walls 14 and 16 are then folded inwardly to lie flat on thebottom 12. The side walls 18 and 20 are then both folded inwardly sothat the side walls and the top ring are lowered to rest on top of thefolded in end walls. The collapsed containers then take up much lessspace when being shipped or stored.

The use of a single locking means such as a break away rivet which locksthe top 24, end wall 14 and end bar 42 of top ring 22 together providesgreater security in preventing the container from collapsing than ispossible with other collapsible containers currently in use. Moreover,the use of a breakaway locking means such as a rivet not only providesan easy way for releasing the sides for folding but also provides avisual indication of any tampering with the container in an attempt toopen the container.

Numerous other modifications and adaptations of the present inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art and thus, it is intended bythe following claims, to cover all such modifications and adaptationswhich fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A collapsible container movable between an erect position and acollapsed position, said container comprising: a) a bottom; b) a pair ofopposed side walls; c) a pair of opposed end walls; d) a top ringextending around a top edge of said container, said top ring comprisingtwo opposed end bars and two opposed side bars; e) a lid mounted on saidtop ring to form a cover for said container; f) a first through holeformed in a top of one of said end walls; g) a second through holeformed in an end bar of said top ring positioned over said one end walland aligned with said first through hole; h) a third through hole formedin an end of said lid positioned over said one end wall and aligned withsaid first and second through holes; and i) a removable locking meansinserted through said first, second and third through holes to lock saidcontainer in an erect position.
 2. A collapsible container according toclaim 1 wherein said locking means comprises a break away rivet.
 3. Acollapsible container according to claim 2 which further comprises arivet access area having a bottom surface angled downwardly in said endbar having said third hole therein whereby a break away rivet oncebroken may fall clear of said container.
 4. A collapsible containeraccording to claim 1 wherein said locking means is a tie.
 5. Acollapsible container according to claim 1 wherein said end walls andside walls are pivotally connected to said bottom and said side wallsalso are pivotally connected to said top ring and wherein each of saidside walls comprises an upper section and a lower section pivotallyconnected together lengthwise at an intermediate portion of said sidewall.
 6. A collapsible container movable between an erect position and acollapsed position, said container comprising: a) a bottom; b) a pair ofopposed end walls pivotally connected to opposite ends of said bottom;c) a pair of opposed side walls pivotally connected to opposite sides ofsaid bottom; d) each said side wall comprising an upper section and alower section pivotally connected together lengthwise thereof; e) a topring comprising two opposed end bars and two opposed side bars; f) eachsaid upper section of a side wall being pivotally connected to a sidebar of said top ring; g) a lid mounted on said top ring to form a coverfor said container; h) a first through hole formed in a top of one ofsaid end walls; i) a second through hole formed in an end bar of saidtop ring positioned over said one end wall and aligned with said firstthrough hole; j) a third through hole formed in an end of said lidpositioned over said one end wall and aligned with said first and secondthrough holes; and k) a break away rivet inserted through said first,second and third through holes to lock said one end wall, said top ringand said lid together.
 7. A collapsible container according to claim 6which further comprises a rivet access area having a bottom surfaceangled downwardly in said end bar having said third hole therein wherebya break away rivet once broken may fall clear of said container.